I cannot agree more about the quality of Palliser's book. The games are quite instructive for the feel and leave little doubt that it can be played. I think its advantage is there are really so many ways that black can play after the two knight moves that white has to proceed with a certain amount of caution (even if he is on the attack). I do think the Tango is a sound recommendation because the player is likely going to have to learn how to play many different positions.

By the way, can anyone tell me Avrukh's recommendation vs the Tango in his 1. d4 GM series?

He recommends playing in Catalan fashion with 3.Nf3 e6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bd2 Bd2 6.Qd2, followed by a quick Nc3 and Rd1 to take the sting out of ...e5. For details, I refer you to the book.

Most of Avrukh's 1.d4 vol. 1 is the Catalan.

On the Tango front, the only issue I have with it is its lines are somewhat incompatible with a mainline KID where black plays g6. It's not bad, but you will not be able to have a single cohesive KID/Tango repertoire.

[quote]The Tango is a great weapon on 1700 level. White players usually don't have a clue and play 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 or 3.d5. [/quote]

I've never faced 3 d5 in the Durham league, but yes, lots and lots of 3 Nc3 e5 4 d5. (Which wouldn't be bad if such Whites went for h2-h4 plans, but they never do!) I've never dared post a game of mine on here before, but here's a 'typical' Tango I won in the Durham league a frightening five years ago:

I 1000% agree - I just think it's funny that his coach suggested it if he thought he was a Karpov-esque, positional style player. The Tango is a pretty dynamic, aggressive opening played by the likes of Bologan and Christiansen. Not exactly a "boa" type of approach!

My coach tells me I need to pick up a new defense as Black against 1.d4 . I'm not comfortable with 1.d4 d5, and he says my current opening (The Grunfeld) is much too tactical and dynamic for a positional player as myself (In previous posts I mention that I look up to Karpov and his boa-constrictor style of chess). He suggested I try out the Tango where the basic line is as follows :

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6

I've been playing blitz games to get a feel for it with mediocre results(about a 33/33/33 percentage with W/L/D). My biggest problem is I haven't been able to find ANYTHING furthering the theory of the Tango.

Could someone point me in the right direction please, or perhaps tell me what kind of defense I should check out?

Against the Zurich, Black doesn't have to play Palliser's recommended 5...d6 but can instead prefer 5...d5, when 6.a3 Bc3 7.Qc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 e5 9.e3 Bf5 is a variation of the Nimzo where Black has no problems. More theoretically critical is 6.e3, but then 6...0-0 7.Bd3 dc4 8.Bc4 a6 9.0-0 Bd6 is perfectly playable for Black.

Also, after 4.a3, Palliser doesn't like 4...d5 5.Nc3 for Black, mentioning 5...Be7, 5...g6 and 5...a6, but he doesn't examine 5...dc4!? 6.e4 Na5, which in my view is no worse than the main line 4...d6 5.Nc3 g6. After 7.Bc4 Nc4 8.Qc4 c6 9.Qc4 Be7 Black's bishop pair compensates for White's central space advantage and freer development.

And after 4.g3, if Black wants a Bogo-Indian but without the theory, he should consider 4...Bb4 5.Bd2 0-0!?, keeping all of Black's options open. For example, 6.Bg2 Bd2 7.Nbd2 d6 8.0-0 e5 9.d5 Ne7 is fine for Black, and 6.Nc3 d5 is a good version of the Catalan for Black because White has committed his knight to c3.

Practically, it's a great line, and it's also quite fun to play as well. I can't tell you how many times I got great positions after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. d5 Ne7 followed by ...Ng6, ...Bc5, and ...d6. Most people just simply do not play well against this opening, and if you know it well, you can breeze through the opening and slide in to some very pleasant middlegame positions.

I've had a few of those easy games myself. But once opponents are above 2100-2200 they almost all play 3.Nf3 and the game will be much calmer (not necessarily a bad thing, of course).

As a follow-up to my Nimzo-Indian move order suggestion, those who really like the Tango plans with the ...e5 push could meet 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 with Taimanov's 4...Nc6!? intending ...e5, and 4.f3 with 4...d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxe4 7.fxe4 e5 8.d5 Bc5 - a line that was recommended in "Chess Openings for Black, Explained".

Practically, it's a great line, and it's also quite fun to play as well. I can't tell you how many times I got great positions after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. d5 Ne7 followed by ...Ng6, ...Bc5, and ...d6. Most people just simply do not play well against this opening, and if you know it well, you can breeze through the opening and slide in to some very pleasant middlegame positions.

However, there are some pressing problems (probably) in the Zurich Variation that promise White something, and I do remember some postings in some other threads here where people found some other lines as well. We should try to find them.